


He Cares

by Rocketman23



Series: Cuphead Prompts [10]
Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Dice is a stubborn man, Gen, The Devil is conflicted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-23 07:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14929478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocketman23/pseuds/Rocketman23
Summary: Dice feels conflicted over The Devil's decision to send the two cp boys on a hunt for debtors.he tries to confront the Devil.





	1. He Cares Too Much

“What? Did the last of your sanity finally wither away along with what little dignity you had?” Dice snaps. It had been a long day, dealing with cheating customers and antsy colleagues. The worse part was when those two snivelling brats stepped foot in his fine establishment.

“Bold of you to assume I had either to begin with.” The Devil growls, ink black fur standing on edge. He surveys his casino, light and noise suffusing the place. The overwhelming greed of his patrons once a thing to make him smile gleefully, now makes him grimace. Dice standing behind him, his posture tight and straight. He never knew how to relax and pissed the Devil off.

“They’re just kids” Dice begins as he takes a step forwards, now standing by the balcony edges. How valiant of his manager, the Devil inwardly gripes.

“and they still bet their souls, age is but a number to me” the Devil snarks as he twists his body around and saunters off through the double doors, tail flicking side to side and his brows stuck in a permanent crease. 

“You can’t expect children to fight debtors! They’ll be killed!” Dice shouts back, eyes glowing green and hands fisted at his sides. This whole establishment was a hell in and of itself but they were just kids. They’d never make it past the first debtor. Dice doesn’t get much of a chance to put purpose into his argument before a sharp gust of wind hits him, the Devil’s contorted and shifting form snaking about him in great black loops. 

“I can expect anything I want of them!!” the Devil hisses in Dices face, his breathe carrying the stench of death on it and teeth bared in a snarl, “you’ll do well to remember your place Kingsley, or would you rather I make their pathetic lives worse” the Devil coos, sinuous coils squeezing Dices prone form. This was a fight he couldn’t win, his eyes fading back to their black colour.

“Of course not, boss…” Dice whispers. The Devil lifts his chin with a curled claw so their gazes meet and for a time the Devil says nothing, swirling eyes of crimson holding Dices soul still. 

“Good” the Devil finally concedes, retracting his coils and claws and leaving red marks in their place. Tensed lines covering his features as he swivels on his heels and begins a slow pace to his office. The Devil gets to the end of the corridor, lights flickering out one by one, leaving him total darkness. The only thing marking him, his glowing eyes as he coolly states, “oh and Dice? Let’s not forget who’s in charge here”.

The balcony door slams shut, Dice’s hands clutching at his sides where that snake had wrapped about him. He’d definitely wake up with bruises tomorrow. Turning to the festivities below, he grips the railing and mutters something to himself.

Kingsley Dice was the sole Manager of the Devil’s Casino, he had a job to do but that didn’t mean he had to do it by the book. Eyes shining a verdant green, he stalks in the direction of his boss, a silent promise bubbling inside himself to keep an eye on those two brats.


	2. He Cares Too Much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dice tries to keep an eye on the two brats.  
> it's harder than what he thought.

Heart in his mouth, he makes a swift descent through several bloody circles, each filled with the souls of the damned. A wailing, screaming mess. How poultry. Nonetheless, his usual chastisement of the sinner’s delays in his mind, the image of two boy’s pleading for their lives weaving one monstrous image of their demise after the other. He takes a sharp turn left and falls past the wailing of a burning woman, hands groping after his coat tails, as he plummets into through a black hole.

What if they were dead before he’d even gotten to the first isle?

What if they never made it off isle 3?

Such thoughts swam through Dice’s mind as he popped up through the ground, black hole swirling ominously. He made a shortcut to the forest just outside of Elder Kettles residence. Or so he hoped. He hadn’t seen the antique for a millennia but assumed with the caretaking of those two boy’s he’d at least stay in residence here. Straightening his bowtie as he makes a steady pace through the forest, he goes through the Devil’s strict orders.

1\. Keep an eye on the brats.

2\. make sure they get all the contracts from every isle.

3\. Don’t help them.

Pretty easy, pretty simple. Dice could follow those rules just fine. At the time he thought he could but coming just to the edges of the forest he spots a blur of red and blue. Ducking behind a tree, he counts to three before peering around the edge. It seemed the boys were making progress already. Huh. The two brothers wave energetically at their guardian before taking off in the direction of Cagney’s garden. Elder Kettle looked solemn as he watched his children race to their inevitable doom. Something lurched in Dice’s chest and slithered its way down his spine.

With a huff he teleports to the boy’s first battle, the worry that wormed itself about Kettle’s face too much a sight to bear any longer. 

~~0~~

Keeping an eye on the brats was a harder job than Dice had suspected. One moment they were racing towards Cagney’s garden, the next they’ve stopped at the edge of the isle to talk to some fish lady. Honestly, these brats had no sense of time and Dice was beginning to become irate. What with having to duck behind tree’s and hide in bushes lest the runts catch a glimpse of him. and yes, teleporting was all fine and dandy when you had the energy for it but after trailing after those two whirl winds, Dice had just about given up on the whole ability. It was less secrete to go on foot but far less tiring too. 

It was almost nice too, to see isle 1. Being the manager of a casino meant Dice had no time to himself and certainly no time to go sightseeing. The air out here was cleaner, with a pleasant scent to it. The wind blew gently, the clouds kept most of the searing sunlight at bay and the forest was a cool and languid place to rest. It was a world away from being at the casino. Dice liked it. Almost. If not for the buzzing insects and severe lack of road, Dice could come to enjoy such a place. The lack of civilisation was astounding and any ‘civilians’ he did find, he steered clear of. No use causing up a fuss.

Keeping track of two rambunctious children was a far harder feat than Dice would care for. His feet ached and his shoes were covered in dirt. His suit remained unscathed but for how much longer Dice did not want to think of. It was funny to watch the two brats run about asking for help and hints and they proved quite adept with their finger guns, blasting minor foes out of their way. It almost made him smile. 

Almost.

~~0~~

Dice hated this.

He wanted to scream.

He wanted to do _something_ but found himself tied to the Devils sinister ruling.

Of course the debtors hadn’t wanted to give up their contracts. Giving up their contracts was giving up everything they had attained and they certainly weren’t going to give it to some snot nosed kids. Which is why Dice finds himself clinging to a tree for dear life, gloved nails raking down the bark and leaving slight scratches as he watches the brothers fight for their lives. 

They’re bloodied and hurt and _oh dear Satan is that a crack on Mugman’s head??_

Dice tells himself he doesn’t care. So what if they lose? That’s just two more souls for the Devil. Never mind that Dice will be the one to clear away their broken, lifeless bodies should they fail, noooo, that was all a part of his job and Dice loved his job. He tells himself he should just turn around and wait in the Die house. Despite his inner turmoil he stays put, hands still clawed into the tree to ground himself (poor tree) but sure enough, through sheer luck or sheer skill, the boy’s beat Cagney and grab his contract. 

Come to think of it, Dice hadn’t noticed the black and blue bruises covering Cagney’s stem or the missing petals from his head. Huh. Maybe these kids would be alright. Without a second thought, now feeling relieved somewhat, Dice disappears through his black hole.

~~0~~

“Hey Cuppy did ya hear something?” Mugman asks hesitantly of his brother.

“Hear what??” Cuphead replies nonchalantly, pushing Cagney’s limp form with his foot.

“Like a great rush of air and then a pop?” Mugman supplies, surveying the edges of Cagney’s garden and out toward the forest. He was sure he heard something, thought he saw something pur-

“Uuuuuh…no? You sure you didn’t hit your head?” Cuphead interrupts his train of thought, concerned eyes bearing into his soul.

“What? No, my heads fine, just thought I heard something is all” Mugman shakes off Cuphead’s worry, rubbing his bruised arm.

“Well, ya know what I hear??” Cuphead grins.

“…what?” Mugman is pretty sure where this is going.

“The quivering fear of those debtors when I beat their butts!” Cuphead shouts triumphantly, fisting the air with bravado.

“… I don’t think you can hear ‘fear’ Cuppy” Mugman chuckles.

“W-well I can!” Cuphead replies indignantly before tugging at Mugman’s arm and leading them out of Cagney’s garden. 

Mugman gives one last look back into the garden, trying to spot any hidden danger but finds none. With a slight grimace he turns back to his brother and the two continue on.

~~0~~

Dice is shaking. No, he’s quaking. He is wrought with the worse tension that even the nastiest of casino customers could never hope to match. Is this how he dies? He feels like it is. Dice always imagined that the islanders would overthrow the casino and murder him in cold blood or that the Devil would just snap one day and slaughter him on the spot. No, no this was much worse than any of those two options and yet here he was, staring up at a pristine blue sky, various astronomy based attacks flying everywhere. 

And where are the brats, you may ask?

Oh, well, they’re up in the _sky_ battling a _moon!_

He’s gonna have a heart attack. 

What if they fall?

What if the planes stop working all of a sudden and they just plummet to their death?

Oh, oh that’s right! How silly of dice!

_He forgot those two brats were flying planes!!_

His hands rake over his head, various groans slipping past his lips. Occasionally he points in the direction where he thinks an attack is going and move around because that’s going to help them isn’t it?

Except he’s not helping them. Nope. He’s not even really that worried as he stops his manic pacing to stare at the sky. Cuphead’s red plane takes a sharp dip before soaring back up again.

Nope.

Nah.

King Dice isn’t worried in the slightest.

He’s not wheezing on the ground, with hands clutching at his chest.

Everything is A-ok!

~~0~~

Dice is sprawled out on a love chair, hand flopping over his head in a rather dramatic fashion. Oh children were such a handful! His back ached, his feet ached, and his head ached. Everything hurt and all he had done thus far was stalk two brats!

Ok, that sounded a little weird in his head…

But the point was they sucked. How dare they make him worry? The King Dice?

The absolute gall. Dice rubs his temples. No matter, they’d be in the Die house in a couple of minutes, arms laden with contracts. It’d be over soon enough. 

“Soon…” he groaned with more than a lilt of melancholy to his tone. He could go back to dining subpar ladies and cheating sinners of their souls. A better way to spend his time than babysit.

A patter of feet and some mumbling can be heard just outside the Die house, when Dice shoots from his chair and into the ground. Via black hole. Obviously. Dice was a man of secrets and mysteries, debonair and mesmerising. If you thought he would stay slouched on a love seat nursing his wounded pride, you thought wrong. It was time for flair.

The two brothers come strolling in, uncaring for any dangers that might pop out at them, their arms filled with scrolled up contracts. 

“H-hello?” Mugman asks sheepishly of the dimly lit room.

“Heh, told ya that Dice face wouldn’t show up! Too scared of our awesome-aaaah” Cuphead squeals, his charade of being some valiant type crushed as Dice pops up from the ground with a twirl, to stand looming in front of Cuphead’s suddenly diminished form.

“Do ah look scared to you boy’s” Dice sneers, as Cuphead stands beside Mugman, contracts fallen to the floor in haste to be away from Dice.

“N-no sir” Mugman replies in place of his brother, who appears to be having a stare off with Dice.

“That’s King to you, pipsqueak” Dice chastises, as he bends to pick up a few contracts. He glances at the boy’s forms, noticing a few bruises and a couple nicks. Nothing major. He breathes a short sigh of relief. “Well don’t just stand there! Hand me them contracts! Dice growls out.

Mugman hastily hands over his armful of contracts as Cuphead picks up the rest of the ones he dropped, albeit with sass lacing his mumbled complaints. Dice raises his brow, this kid never learned. 

“It took you long enough…” Dice humbly supplies once all of the contracts are snugly tucked within his suit pocket. He pats his coat down. Shouldn’t they run off by now?

Why were they still standing there?

“Umm, can we go to the next isle now?” Mugman asks, his head cocked to the side.

“Yeah, why’re we jus’ standing here? I wanna beat some more bad guys!” Cuphead stares defiantly up at Dice and it quickly dawns on him that, yes, there was indeed another isle full of debtors to be had. In fact, there were two more. 

Like a record screeching to a halt, sound dies in Dice’s throat as he simply gestures to the double doors that lead to the dock. The brats don’t even miss a beat as they race off yet again, Mugman giving a quick glance back at Dice’s mumbling form, before disappearing through the double doors.

“Two more isles…” Dice mumbles.

“Two…” he walks over to the love seat and promptly falls on top of it. He lets out a strained squeal that could be either hysteric laugh or half-hearted scream. 

“I hate my job…” he murmurs to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya!  
> did ya like this fic?  
> if ya did please leave a kudos and comment!  
> seeya in the next fic!

**Author's Note:**

> hey hey!  
> did ya like this fic?  
> if ya did please leave a kudos and a comment!  
> see ya next time!


End file.
